On Baseball: Blue Jays short a Big Hurt

Sunday

Apr 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMApr 27, 2008 at 4:20 PM

The easy way would have been to ignore the comments made by Frank Thomas and let the slugger hit his way out of a slump. Thomas also got off to a slow start last year and eventually had a very good season for the Toronto Blue Jays. Instead, Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi decided to take decisive action. Within 24 hours, Thomas went from being relegated to the bench to being released.

Art Davidson/Daily News staff

The easy way would have been to ignore the comments made by Frank Thomas and let the slugger hit his way out of a slump. Thomas also got off to a slow start last year and eventually had a very good season for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Instead, Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi decided to take decisive action. Within 24 hours, Thomas went from being relegated to the bench to being released.

Last Saturday, the 39-year-old Thomas was told that he would no longer be Toronto's primary designated hitter. In 16 games, Thomas was hitting .167 with three home runs and 11 RBI. Thomas also got off to a bad beginning last year, but ended up hitting .277 with a team-leading 26 home runs and 95 RBI.

After being informed of the decision by Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, Thomas said that the club was attempting to save money by not playing him. If Thomas batted just 304 more times this year a clause would have been activated that would guarantee him a $10 million salary in 2009. Thomas needed to bat 1,000 times during the 2007 and 2008 seasons for him to be assured of being paid $10 million next year. Thomas is being paid $12,650,000 this season.

A day later, Thomas was summoned for a meeting with Ricciardi. Before last Sunday's game it was announced that Thomas had been released.

Ricciardi said it was nothing more than a baseball decision. He stated that what Thomas had said a day earlier wasn't a factor in the decision and wasn't even discussed during their meeting.

"He did lead our team in home runs and runs batted in last year, but I don't think we can wait perhaps three months for him to get going," said Ricciardi. "We can't let the division get away from us. We are in the same division with Boston and New York, and we can't afford to fall too far behind.

"Frank said he wouldn't be happy with a diminished role. We both decided it would be best if he moved on. He was very professional about everything."

Thomas would have been an automatic first-ballot Hall-of-Fame candidate if he hadn't endured so many injuries during his final years with the Chicago White Sox. Despite all the time Thomas spent on the disabled list his Cooperstown credentials still merit strong consideration. He has hit 516 home runs and has a .302 lifetime batting average.

When the White Sox finally won the World Series in 2005, Thomas was a member of the club, but he played in only 34 major league games that season and didn't see any action in the postseason.

Thomas wasn't unemployed for long. He was signed Thursday by the Oakland Athletics. Thomas had a very good season for the A's in 2006 before opting to move to Toronto.

The question that remains is whether the Blue Jays are a better team without Thomas. Matt Stairs and Rod Barajas are currently Toronto's primary DHs. Adam Lind, who has major league experience and got off to a terrific start for the Blue Jays' minor league affiliate in Syracuse, might eventually take over the position on a full-time basis once he recovers from a minor neck injury.

Seeing red

It wasn't surprising that Walt Jocketty became the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, but it was stunning that it occurred just 21 games into the season.

The former Cardinals GM, who was at the helm when St. Louis won the 2004 National League pennant and the 2006 World Series, joined Cincinnati's front office last winter. Jocketty is a friend of Reds owner Bob Castellini, who was formerly a minority owner of the Cardinals.

It was speculated in Cincinnati that Jocketty would eventually replace Wayne Krivsky. When the Reds got off to a 9-12 start, Castellini decided to fire Krivsky.

Krivsky had mixed success as a general manager of a small-market team, but he didn't deserve to be fired this early in the season. However, Jocketty is an excellent general manager who has earned several executive of the year honors. Jocketty left the Cardinals last October due to his own philosophical differences with some of the club's executives.

Marzano will be missed

Following the final game of the World Series last October, John Marzano and myself got off different elevators at the same time at Coors Field. The former Red Sox catcher embraced me warmly. We talked about the Red Sox and his broadcasting career as we walked to where the Colorado Rockies were holding a postgame reception.

It was stunning to find out last Saturday that Marzano had died at the youthful age of 45.

Marzano was never a star, but he got the most out of his ability, which helped him have a productive major league career. He was passionate about baseball, both as a player and as a broadcaster.

Baseball lost a friend when John Marzano died.

(Art Davidson is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 508-626-4403 or adavidson@cnc.com.)

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